wrist pain?

I am 25 years old and a total beginner who just started playing. I joined here and started taking live lessons about 3 weeks ago. Im so into it that Ive even kind of surprised myself. As soon as I can when I get home from work I just want to practice, so Ive been doing so for 2-4 hours every day sometimes more. The last few days though my wrist has been hurting a bit in the area straight down from my thumb. I dont think its a big deal at the moment, but I know that carpal tunnel can happen and I would like to avoid that at all costs. Should I just stop practicing all together for a few days and let things mellow out or can I still practice, but just in small amounts? I want to keep improving, but I also dont want to injur myself.

You should definitely rest your wrist as this can lead to long term damage. So maybe take some time off or cut your practice time down. Also, this could be an issue based on your posture or the way you're holding the guitar. You want to make sure your fretting hand is more or less parallel with the floor. You never want to overbend your wrist.

Things that are important:

Proper exercises- Gently stretch your wrist, fingers, arms back and shoulders.

when practicing make sure you're taking breaks.

I second the folks at GT and what they said. Also, if at any time you actually have wrist pain from playing, something is wrong. If you have only been playing three weeks, the only thing that should hurt are your fingers as you build calluses on the tips of your fingers. Check your posture. My suggestion is this. Slow down to maybe an hour practice a day, or if you want to practice two hours, do like I do. I practice for 30 minutes take a short break, another 30 and a short break, another 30 and a short break and the last 30 and then stop till the next day.

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate the input. I think Im going to take a day off and let my wrist rest a bit and see how it feels. If its good im going to take breaks while practicing from now on. It can be a bit hard to stope sometimes when I can see and feel myself getting the hang of whatever im practicing. I just want to keep going. I'd rather be safe then sorry though. Once again thank you for the advice!